We're Still Getting Fatter

Obesity epidemic fallout foreshadows serious health troubles

(NEWSER) - The ranks of US children with dangerously high blood pressure and hypertension have been growing for 20 years, reversing a decades-long trend, says a new study that tracks the effects of youth obesity. Hypertension, which usually doesn't develop until patients are in their 30s or 40s, is a leading cause of heart attack and stroke, the Washington Post reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Americans eat more than twice as much added sugar as doctors recommend, and they should cut back to battle obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease, researchers say. Added calories from processed sugar should total no more than 150 for men and 100 for women, the American Heart Association said today. Soft drinks are the top factor in added dietary sugar, and the recommendations are sure to rile their producers, Reuters reports. More»

Economic troubles, lifestyle traditions distract from rampant obesity

(NEWSER) - Dietary tradition helps make Huntington, W.Va., the nation's most obese and unhealthy city, the AP reports. The five-county area, where poverty rates are high, boasts many pizza and hot dog joints—but Huntington's mayor will not follow the lead of New York City and ban trans fats in restaurants. "We want as much business as we can have here," said Mayor David Felinton, who underwent stomach surgery last year to lose weight. More»

A million new cases reported a year

(NEWSER) - America is facing a diabetes epidemic—a health disaster more economically catastrophic than a Hurricane Katrina each year, USA Today reports. The disease killed 284,000 people last year, and a staggering million new cases are diagnosed each year as more Americans become morbidly obese, according to a new study by the American Diabetes Association. More»

Only 13% recognize when their child is obese

(NEWSER) - Nearly half the parents of severely overweight children ages 6 to 11 said their child was “about the right weight,” and only 13% recognized that their child had a severe problem, says a University of Michigan study. The results indicate parents think children will “grow out” of obesity or that something will change as they age, reports the AP. More»